Open-source software provides network components that you can use to simulate 5G network functions from the network core to the radio. Developing and deploying a laboratory infrastructure to support testing 5G and open radio-access network (Open RAN) systems can present a daunting and complex task. Prior to Open RAN, this task was only possible by…
Flexible PTP profiles ease the transition to 5G
5G brought architecture changes that require synchronization. Depending on the location and network site, those timing requirements require different PTP profiles and PTP capacity.
GPS at 50: Now what?
EE World interviewed Microchip’s David Chandler and Duke Buckner on the status and future of GPS, a technology we rely on for location tracking and network timing. Ethernet isn’t the only ubiquitous technology invented in 1973. GPS, the network of satellites that provide location and timing information, was also born that year. GPS has come…
Why O-RAN sync monitoring needs AI/ML
As Open RAN deployments gather pace and accurate timing, synchronization has emerged as a critical step toward consistent performance. It is a complex task, with devices requiring time synchronization to UTC reference via IEEE PTP/SyncE-based boundary clocks, slave clocks, PRTC clocks with GNSS receivers, as well as accurate, real-time monitoring in support of customer SLAs.…
EE World’s 2023 communications handbook is here
Our 2023 5G, Wired, & Wireless Handbook is now available in ebook form. Download your copy today. It started on a cold January day with an editorial call. A month later, the abstracts came in. After another month, the manuscripts came in. Then came the editing and some back-and-forth with the authors. Next, it was…
How IEEE 1588 synchronizes 5G Open RAN
The three units that comprise Open RAN 5G networks need precise timing to properly interoperate. Standards dictate what is needed, but it’s up to design engineers to properly implement timing circuits. 5G networks, with their promise of increased bandwidth and improved responsiveness, impose new challenges on equipment designers and network architects. One such challenge comes…
Open RAN networks pass the time
Network elements must meet certain frequency, phase, and time requirements to ensure proper end-to-end network operation. Synchronization architectures defined by the O-RAN alliance dictate how Open RAN equipment can meet these requirements. Open RAN continues to attract interest from service providers looking to reduce cost, improve competition, and drive technology innovation. The desire for a…
How timing propagates in a 5G network
5G’s high speeds place extreme demands on the components that maintain accurate time. Compliance with industry timing standards calls for accuracy in the face of temperature changes, shock, and vibration.
Synchronizer keeps 5G networks on time
The Zyntai network time synchronizer from Net Insight picks up where precision-time servers leave off. Without timing and synchronization, networks would simply not run; data would never arrive at its destination. That’s where network timing products come in. At MWC 2023, Swedish network equipment vendor Net Insight will demonstrate Zyntai Time Node and Zyntai Director,…
RF over fiber: overcoming an inherent transmission-line problem, part 1
Optical fiber can carry analog RF signals from antenna to receiver with far less loss than coaxial cables.